Cairo-Cape Town Highway

Trans-African Highway 4
Route information
Length	10,228 km (6,355 mi)
Major junctions
North end	TAH 1 in Cairo, Egypt
	TAH 6 in Sudan and Ethiopia TAH 8 in Nairobi, Kenya TAH 9 in Lusaka, Zambia
South end	TAH 3 in Cape Town, South Africa
Highway system
Trans-African Highway network ← TAH 3 → TAH 5

The Cairo–Cape Town Highway is Trans-African Highway 4 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Union. The route has a length of 10,228 km (6,355 mi) and links Cairo in Egypt to Cape Town in South Africa.

Background[]

The Cairo–Cape Town Highway follows much of the route that makes up the Cape to Cairo Road but it has a few differences.

Firstly, the Cairo–Cape Town Highway passes through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia while the Cape-to-Cairo Road goes directly through South Sudan from Kenya. Secondly, the Cairo–Cape Town Highway passes through Livingstone (Victoria Falls), Bulawayo, Francistown and Gaborone and not through Harare, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

This new route has a length of 10,228 km.^[1] As South Sudan has a paved link to its border with Kenya, ultimately a route through southern Sudan via Khartoum and South Sudan may provide a shorter alternative to the Ethiopian route.^{[citation needed]}

The modern revival of the plan occurred in the 1980s. South Africa was not originally included in the route which was first planned in the Apartheid era, but it is now recognized that it would continue into that country. The consultants' report suggested Pretoria as end, which seems somewhat arbitrary and as a major port, Cape Town, is regarded as the southern end of regional highways in Southern African Development Community countries. The highway may be referred to in documents as the Cairo–Gaborone Highway or Cairo–Pretoria Highway. But due to the route officially passing through south-eastern Botswana, the name Cairo–Pretoria Highway may be disregarded.

Route[]

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The stretch of highway between Dongola and Wadi Halfa in Northern Sudan and the Egypt-Sudan border are now accessible by road through the Qastal-Ashkeet border post.

Between Wad Madani in Sudan and Wereta in Ethiopia, the route is shared with the Ndjamena-Djibouti Highway. The Ethiopian section is all tarmac road, although much of the Ethiopian section passes through mountainous terrain and parts of the road may be hazardous as a result.

In northern Kenya the section has been hazardous due to the activities of armed bandits.^[2] The road has been dubbed "Hell's Road" by overland travellers,^[2] but it is completely paved. In Nairobi, the Cairo-Cape Town Highway intersects with the Lagos–Mombasa Highway.

Sceneries between Iringa and Dodoma.

The road section through Babati and Dodoma (the A104 Road) in central Tanzania has been completely paved, and passable throughout most of the year, and the alternative paved eastern route to Iringa via Moshi, Korogwe, Chalinze and Morogoro may also be considered to have a better claim to be part of the highway.^{[citation needed]}

Between Chalinze in Tanzania and Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia via Iringa, Tunduma & Mpika, the highway uses an important regional route, the Tanzam Highway, also called the northern section of the Great North Road (T2 Road) in Zambia. This highway used to have the distinction of being the only link between any of Africa's five major regions which is paved, linking East Africa to Southern Africa. It is the most used of any such inter-regional road on the continent.^{[citation needed]}

From Kapiri Mposhi, the road is completely paved, mostly in good condition and continues southwards as the T2 Road (still called Great North Road), through Kabwe and Lusaka to the Kafue River Bridge, where it becomes the south-westerly Lusaka-Livingstone road, through Mazabuka and Choma to Livingstone and the Victoria Falls, where the road crosses the Zambezi River and enters Zimbabwe. The section from Kapiri Mposhi to the beginning of the Lusaka-Livingstone Road south of Kafue is shared with the Beira-Lobito Highway.

The road section through Zimbabwe is paved, firstly going south-east from Victoria Falls to Bulawayo as the A8 Road, then shifting south-west as the A7 Road, crossing the border with Botswana (Ramokgwebana River), to the city of Francistown. The road section through Botswana is paved, going from the border with Zimbabwe as one road (the A1 Road) through Francistown, Palapye, Gaborone and Lobatse to the border with South Africa.

In South Africa, the road is completely paved, with the entire route through the country being part of the National Roads in South Africa (highest category of routes in the country). After entering South Africa, the Cairo-Cape Town Highway passes through Mahikeng, Warrenton, Kimberley and Beaufort West to end in the vicinity of Cape Town. From Mahikeng to Warrenton, it uses the N18 Route, before using the N12 Route from Warrenton to Beaufort West and becoming the N1 Route for the remainder of the route to Cape Town.

See also[]

• Trans-African Highway network
• Lagos-Mombasa Highway

References[]

• African Development Bank/United Nations Economic Commission For Africa: "Review of the Implementation Status of the Trans African Highways and the Missing Links: Volume 2: Description of Corridors". August 14, 2003. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
• Michelin Motoring and Tourist Map: "Africa North and West". Michelin Travel Publications, Paris, 2000.